Suspense-filled drama that will tug at your heartstrings and leave you guessing
Story:
Something I frequently found myself saying was "WOW this is crazy!" because the plot is so unpredictable and there are so many cliffhangers and plot twists that you just want to keep watching. Throughout the series, you wonder what is going to happen to Lee Jae Han, and things take a major turn in the last few episodes and things really get C R A Z Y. The ending is kind of ambiguous but I think it just sets the stage for a second season, which HAS to happen. Otherwise it's super unsatisfying.
It's a crime drama, but at the same time all the cases are connected and lend themselves to the bigger picture of the plot. It was really interesting to think about how the past/present changed because of the walkie talkie and the actions of the main characters. The writing is good and it moves along fairly quickly, although this is definitely a heavier drama since it covers topics like rape, murder, etc. This is a drama that tugs at your heartstrings and makes you sad and angry at injustice. The cases are also based on real events, which is so devastating to think about. There's a sense of continuity in the drama, where the beginning episodes are equally important to the plot as the later ones and it all ties together, so you should definitely pay attention to everything!
Acting/Cast:
Signal has such a stellar cast, including one of my favourite actors Kim Won Hae. He's appeared in what feels like every single drama, but he's such a good actor although he didn't play a big role here. There were lots of familiar faces in the cast, and I can't think of a single one where I felt like the acting was weak. You will hate the villains, and rail at injustice and then remember that it's just an actor and not real life.
I was especially impressed with the female lead (Cha Soo Hyun), who appears in both the past and the present. The way that she portrayed herself from 15 years ago vs present time were so different and made it believable. Sometimes I feel like in dramas, scenes from the past come across as kind of fake or not believable that the actors are really younger (just dressed in different clothes) but this felt really real.
Music:
The theme song really fits in with the old time feel of the show, and I had it stuck in my head but then for some reason midway through they swapped out the song for a few episodes. I'm not sure if this was because of the plot or whatever, but then they went back to the original song. I can't remember the second song, but the first song is a solid 8/10.
Rewatch Value:
If crime/suspense dramas aren't your thing, I would highly recommend watching with someone.
I actually started watched Signal a few years ago when it first came out and then dropped it, but always remembered it as being a good drama despite that. I think it's just a very emotional/heavy drama and I usually prefer romantic comedies, but this time I watched it over Netflix Party with my boyfriend and I think it definitely helps to have someone to buddy watch with! It's not a show that I would recommend binge watching, more like watching one episode a day so things don't get too dark.
Honestly a really good drama. Get ready for suspense, cliff hangers, plot twists, and all the feels.
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DEFINITELY worth a watch!
Intriguing, smart, funny, sad, smart, sneaky. really good!Acting is spot on, you really get love and hate characters, understanding their frustrastions and other feelings, totally hooked in and didn't really get boring at all as something new would appear and make you raise your eyebrows. Music fits perfectly with the emotions and scenes. Good story and up your street if you enjoyed watching "The Call" as they're similar concepts.
Although it was a hopeful open ending I still was a bit disappointed in it, also due to the fact that is just that season and no more once you've finished. I was really hoping to see the sweetest man Jae Han himself finally reunited with 0.5 but still worth it.
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THRILLER + TIME INTERSECTION
A good drama to enjoy both time intersection and thriller plot.The cast did a very good job in portraying their respective roles.
The storyline is well written capturing the thrill in moment along with indulging the audience into understanding the personality and emotions of criminals and victims......this kind of profiling also helps in understanding why these people made such choices in past and the results of it in present.
Money power, connections and power abuse still prevail in the society but as long as we are upright and DON'T GIVE UP , there's hope for better future.
Yes, it is worth watching.
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The characters in Signal are all well written. I felt an emotional connection towards both male leads and the female lead. Everything these characters went through engrossed me into the show even more. The villain I absolutely loved to hate, and the side characters made me laugh at times.
The story is mostly a thriller/mystery, but it also involves family drama and a little romance, so there's a little something for everybody. There is a little bit of violence and gore in Signal, but I never found it to be too much to handle. It's typical for a mystery/thriller series.
The one problem I had with Signal was I wish they better explained certain things during the last episode, but it was still a satisfying ending.
If you want a good mystery/thriller, or just good drama to watch in general, I definitely recommend Signal!
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Best Crime Drama
This drama.is everything. First time that I liked the Ahjussi character. The trio is indeed awesome! Hoping for season 2 with the same cast. I like how the cases in the drama are based on true crime cases. This drama is a bit like the hollywood movie frequency and I love that movie that I one of my project was based on that movie :) The differences are the radio they used. In the movie the father and son are the one that's communicating while in the drama they don't know each other. The pallettes they used in the drama to transition from present to past is perfect. Best scene for me.is when Ahjussi is crying in the movie theatre while everyone is laughing it was heartbreaking. Even the supporting roles shine in this drama. Best Crime Drama for me. To those who haven't watch it yet I recommend you to watch it to know how amazing this drama is.Was this review helpful to you?
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One of the best shows in any language
My first foray into the world of the K drama was Signal and what a first impression it made. This show his wonderful from its writing to the acting to the haunting soundtrack. Cho Jin-woong was spectacular as Lee Jae-Han. The movie theatre scene is a sight to behold. It really rips your heart out to see how he suffered in that moment. Kim Hye-soo as Cha Soo-hyun was a true paradox of the hard boiled detective who was very vulnerable when it came to Lee Jae-Han. As the profiler, Lee Je-hoon was excellent as the conflicted police officer fighting with his own past and the death of his brother. Jang Hyun-sang as the main antagonist was great and made it more satisfying to see his comeuppance at the end. There isn't anything about this series I could fault.Was this review helpful to you?
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The Main Problems I had with "Signal" (Even though I Loved It)
I've never done this before, but here is a review/discussion on "Signal" for those who HAVE seen the drama.WARNING: ESSAY AHEAD
As one of the highest rated shows here, it is impossible to miss “Signal.” If you haven’t watched it, you will at least try it out one day because the world won’t stop telling you how good it is. Nor will the reviewers stop reviewing. For some reason. Ahem. (But seriously, this review is addressed to those who have seen it).
However, after recently finishing the series, I went through reviews to try and find the words which described how I feel about it other than the extremes of “IT’S THE BEST” or “IT’S THE WORST.” Which, honestly, it isn’t either of those things.
Let’s be honest, though, it’s great. It’s a really well done show. Even if you haven’t seen it you KNOW that. So, as I seem to be doing to the popular things, I’m just going to discuss what is not so great. This time, with spoilers. All the spoilers ahead.
THE PLOT HOLE
Getting right into it, we have a bit of plot holes here which I’ve seen people mention exist, but no one seems to be really discussing what they actually are. And it is what the main one is which really impacts the ending of the season.
The radio transmissions. Obviously. The first transmission received is from Jaehan’s future—a future only made possible because of Haeyeong’s future transmissions. This becomes a whole “chicken and the egg” ordeal as it is supposedly Haeyeong which leads Jaehan to the latter’s death, when the show itself is constantly reminding us that the future only changes when the past is changed.
While their relationship’s beginning with Jaehan’s death adds to the suspense and weight at the end of the season, I did spend the entire time wondering when we would find out how the transmissions started in the first place. This curiosity was never satisfied—unless I missed something in which I would ask someone to explain (completely plausible).
CONSISTENCY
This show actually does a great job in keeping things pretty simple (though it certainly gets too simple as many have noted), but the second half also will make question the consistency of changing the past.
When the serial killer with ties to Soohyun gets arrested in the past, this results in several women surviving in the future. Haeyeong comments on this, but no solution is arrived at by the end of the season. When the previous case held drastic results for changing the past, this case ends up having no fallback. Rather, all the experiences the audience endured with the characters are lost, thus destroying the growth of the characters.
TIME
Where Jaehan goes through years of his life in the show, the present only seems progress in a few weeks—a month, maybe, based on the cases and conversations had between characters. Still, there seems to be a lot of room for character growth in this short period because so much heartache ensues in the current tragedies…until they are wiped away.
One of the “wait, what?” moments in the show for me was when Soohyun is able to address her trauma and finally catch the killer who tormented her…only for it to be erased from history completely. This growing period for her and other moments in the show are lost, leaving the audience to wonder about the cost of changing the past only to lose the strength gained from pain.
I do think that the last episode somewhat addresses this when *stuff happens* and the present changes in a nearly unrecognizable way. We see that all of these relationships Haeyeong built over the last several weeks are gone, and I wondered what he must have been feeling then—if he regretted it.
Part of the reason I believe audiences loved Jaehan so much is because he has all these years to grow and continuously show his devotion to people and his beliefs. His past never changes. On the other side, however, the present characters experience little change aside from Haeyeong. Even then, he is always in the middle of things and dealing with the new changes in the present.
Though I will say that even though I read how people felt the radio transmissions should have been utilized more, I would argue instead that the ethics of the transmissions should have been considered more. I am hoping that this will be addressed in the second season (if it ever comes).
ADVERSITY
I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m ripping this show apart, but I do also feel it necessary to talk about the villains. Despite the fresh take on crime, this show suffers from the usual “corruption” trope where we have these top dogs who love making the good guys suffer for seemingly no reason at all.
In fact, I feel like “Signal” didn’t even both coming up with a reason for our antagonists. They were just illogically against solving crime right and just wanted money and power for some reason. Super weird.
Interestingly enough, I don’t think “Signal” even needed some evil, corrupted, villain. Just this fight against time, death, and perps was enough to get my heart racing.
CONCLUSION
All in all, it was a great show. Many repeated flashbacks which were unneeded, but I still enjoyed that I could follow what was going on with the investigations rather than it just being a bunch of nonsensical jargon as sometimes happens.
I know I listed a bunch of problems it has, but I really did enjoy this show which is why I’m taking the time to review it like this. Oddly enough. It made me think and kept me pushing for the next episode because I just had to find out how they were going to finish all of this. I recommend it!
My rewatch value is my entertainment instead. And as always, I am so grateful to those who made this show available to us. The hard work that went into the making is evident if you take a look. Cheers!
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An Intense Thrill ride!
Wow...Just wow. I never knew what was coming next. Okay so the romance between the main girl and the guy from the past is only seen in flashbacks but it's so realistic and so pure and innocent, I loved watching every interaction they had. The acting was top tier and the storyline kept you guessing till the end. I love the duo of the 2 main leads, I love the friendship and the trust that they built. I hated the villian more than Ive hated any kdrama villian so far.It was Fantastic...That being said the reason this drama did not recieve a 10 star from me was because of the ending. Now I have learned in the Kdrama world, a common downfall many of them are unsatisfactory endings. This one was unfortunately no different. The ending was not horrible by any means, it just didn't tye it up in a nice full circle bow like a wanted. I really could've done with one final scene where the couple we'd been watching and feeling sorry for could've seen eachother. Besides that it was great 👍Was this review helpful to you?
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One of the Most Innovative Thrillers I've Ever Seen!
“Signal” is one of the most innovative and original thrillers I’ve ever had the privilege to watch. It captivates you right from the beginning and never lets up. The writing is crisp and taut, leaving the viewer to sit in wonder as to where the next leg of the story is going to go, while at the same time, wondering what the fate of our three protagonists is.Park Hae Young is a brilliant criminal profiler with a tragic past, one in which he seems to be the center. While he’s a lieutenant with the police department, he does not like the police, nor does he have any faith in their ability to do their job—and with good reason as we find out as the story unfolds.
Detective Cha Soo Hyun is one of the few female violent crimes detectives who seems cold and a bit aloof, but she’s dedicated to her job, and she also comes with a tragic past: the only person to treat her with respect as well as the love of her life in Detective Lee Jae Han who mysteriously disappeared 15 years ago from when this story is set.
Finally, we have Detective Lee Jae Han who leads a one-man crusade to fight against police and political corruption within the police department. He has absolutely no compunction about acting alone, as he’s determined to always do the right thing and bring justice for those who are incapable of getting it otherwise. In many ways, Lee Jae Han is the glue of the trio, and demonstrates that you can never give up no matter what happens. He is the one person Park Hae Young respects within the police department, and soon Cha Soo Hyun as well.
The main focus of this series is a radio that sends its transmissions into the future, and always at the same time, although not every day. Park Hae Young is soon amazed that he’s speaking to Detective Lee Jae Han in the past, using a radio without batteries! How can this be? The series does not ask nor require an explanation, but simply for the viewer to go with it. Perhaps it is the spirit of Lee Jae Han and his fierce determination that causes this phenomenon to occur. In the end, it doesn’t really matter.
Soon placed on a Cold Case Squad under Cha Soo Hyun, Park Hae Young and Detective Lee Jae Han begin to tackle cold cases of the past, and together, hope to solve them and catch criminals who are uncaught—that is until the mysterious radio transmission begins to occur. Park Hae Young has access to evidence that Detective Lee Jae Han doesn’t in the past, including the future location of crimes at future points in time.
However, we soon learn that not everything is resolved because of this advantage, and Park Hae Young quickly discovers that certain things that have been corrected are not always for the best, as others are forced to pay a price for the interference.
There are plenty of plot twists as the story continues with the three of them trying to uncover the central plot to the story that has caused the death of Detective Lee in the past as well as the death of Park Hae Young’s brother. This, of course, raises certain questions, whether they be moral or ethical: can Detective Lee be saved from his fate? Should he be? And can anything be done to save Park Hae Young’s brother?
The series raises a glaring philosophical question: if you could go back and change something from the past, would you? Most people, without really thinking things through, might quickly say, “Yes!” But then, how would things change? This is something that our three characters must ask and answer within the scope of the story. Kobe Bryant was once asked if he had a time machine, would he not want to go back and change things? He very quickly said, “No. I’d never use it. Because that undermines everything that I ever learn from my mistakes.”
Most people have events of the past that they wish they could have done differently. These may even include tragic moments where accidents or events have led to the death of a loved one. Therefore, it may be far more challenging to refrain from using a time machine ability to change the past with the hope of changing the future.
Time stories are very, very difficult to do well. They tend to fall under one of two results: those done very well, and those that are done very badly. There really isn’t an in-between. This is not only one of the few that does it well, but it’s among the very best that I’ve seen. Perhaps only time stories in the Star Trek universe have been done better.
While all three actors are absolutely fantastic in this series, it’s Jo Jin Woong who is the standout for me. He carries himself beautifully as a dedicated detective who is very uncomfortable with personal advances, such as those we see from Cha Soo Hyun toward him, leading to some absolutely hilarious exchanges between the two of them. He plays a hard-nosed detective who refuses to take guff from anyone, no matter their rank. He’s definitely a very idealistic police officer who still believes in the system and that his job is to bring justice. In many ways, Detective Lee is a true hero.
This is a series that will hold your interest all the way to the end. I had only a slight reservation at the very end, and I thought it was because they might have been leaving the door open for another season, but that wasn’t the case. How did Detective Lee survive/escape his last attack? And are Park Hae Young and Cha Soo Hyun successful in, not only getting to him in time but also able to bring down the corrupt congressman? The answers to the last two questions, we can assume that they do, but the first question is left much more obscure that, frankly, needed an answer. But, neither of these prevented me from being grateful for being able to watch such a fantastic series!
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Beautifully crafted crime drama
Most of the times, I have a hard time watching Korean crime dramas. Though they are exciting to watch, sometimes there are just too many names to remember (hard to remember foreign names vs english ones).I am currently watching the Queen's Umbrella and saw someone comment in his review how much he liked Kim Hye Soo in Signal. I loved her in Juvenile Justice so I decided to watch Signal and see her in a different role.
After finishing this series in record time, I agree with loving Kim Hye Soo. Not only is she a great actress, she totally suits the role of a tough detective. I also loved Jo Jin Woong. His acting is so natural and he is so in character as Detective Lee Jae Han. I looked around for his other dramas but sad to say that he doesn't have any current ones.
The storyline is also well written. It captures the viewers interest and there are some heart pounding moments when you wonder if this or that is about to happen.
While the radio transmissions give you Frequency vibes, it is still different in certain ways. Definitely a must watch
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Based on true stories
Signal tells the story of Park Hae Yeong who, one night totally by chance finds an old walky talky in a garbage... and suddenly comes into contact with a cop from the past, Lee Jae Han. With this one and the help of Cha Su Hyeon, they will try to solve famous unsolved murder cases.Inspired by true stories, the different investigations that we follow throughout the drama (and which are spread over several episodes) are all more interesting than each other... At no time I was bored and we follow the path of clues and discoveries with some palpitations... The suspense is widely to meet and does not come alone since it brings with it many emotions. I confess to have cried a lot on several occasions simply because the drama manages to involve us so emotionally (and the superb BO is not for nothing) that we cannot remain insensitive to the difficulties our characters are going through. We get attached to them very quickly and we love always discover a little more about their past.
Speaking of past, I want to say that the jumps in the 80-90’s are just as interesting as the present and I had a great time with Lee Jae Han and the very young Cha Su Hyeon. The time jumps are neat, well used, well positioned and complement the present skillfully. Our brain starts to do gymnastics very quickly to know what year it is without any confusion.
The drama raises a big question: "If we had the possibility to change the past, would we take the risk of changing the present?" Because while Park Hae Yeong and Lee Hae Han are working together to try to catch these culprits in the past to try to save lives, their actions change the present and if sometimes they manage to save people, Others die as collateral damage. Difficult decisions, guilt and remorse then came to Park Hae Yeong who does not know what he should do... And we neither...
We have a true originality for the script and impeccable content and realization. I am really impressed that they were able to offer us 16 well-done episodes. Indeed the only small downside is that the characters do not seem to age (there is only their haircut changing) while 20 years have passed, but at least it has the merit of allowing us to never be lost, since when we change the actors to mark the passing of time, sometimes it is a bit difficult to follow...
Although I was very disappointed with the ending, the drama was exceptional during the other 15 episodes. Without a doubt one of the best I’ve seen, and my favorite for my 2016 screenings. Suspense, action, storyline, characters... Everything was so perfect that I sometimes had a hard time believing it. And then, emotionally speaking, it was really successful, led by a sublime OST, the drama makes us cry, stress, panic, curse and beg. So, backed by a quality realization, the rendering could only be a crush. I advise to everyone.
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